High-resolution transmission electron microscopy examination of carbon nanotubeâ€“polyacrylonitrile composite fibers synthesized by electrospinning was conducted. Both single-wall carbon nanotubes and multi-wall carbon nanotubes have been used to reinforce the polymer fibers. A two-stage rupture behavior of the composite fibers under tension, including crazing of polymer matrix and pull-out of carbon nanotubes, has been observed. Carbon nanotubes reinforce the polymer fibers by hindering crazing extension, reducing stress concentration, and dissipating energy by pullout. Distribution of nanotubes in the polymer matrix and interfacial adhesion between nanotubes and polymers are two major factors to determine the reinforcement effect of carbon nanotubes in polymer fibers.

The spontaneous formation of hollow nanotubes at the heteroepitaxial interface between near lattice-matched PbSe and ZnTe is reported. Mass-spectroscopy measurements show that the rapid diffusion of zinc into PbSe, and reduced diffusion of Pb outward, governs the formation of the nanotubes by a...

The atomic structure of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) implanted in the subcutaneous tissue of rats was examined by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Clusters of the MWCNTs implanted in the subcutaneous tissue were well recognized by the TEM observations....

One of the most important issues in the controlled synthesis of carbon nanotubes is finding a simple way to synthesize the catalyst nanoparticles with a controlled size. The preparation of iron nanoparticles via an organic route has been presented in the paper. The nanoparticles, of the diameter...

Our high resolution transmission electronic microscopy studies of multiwall carbon nanotubes show, after the growth of zirconia nanoparticles by a hydrothermal route, the presence of surface Zr, forming an atomically thin layer. Using first-principles calculations we investigate the nature of...

We report on a method to measure the mean inner potential (V0) using transmission electron microscopy. It is based on phase retrieval from a focus series and has allowed to measure V0 as a function of the size for a system of gold nanoparticles. It comes out that V0 increases for particles below...

It has been recently found by energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) that metastable SiOxâ‰ˆ1 films decay into a Si nanowire network embedded in SiO2 by spinodal decomposition during thermal treatment. To have a guideline for nanocomposites fabrication, details of the...